Manuel Pinto da Costa (born 5 August 1937) is a Santomean economist and politician who served as the first

president of São Tomé and Príncipe President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

from 1975 to 1991. He again served as president from 2011 to 2016.

Life and career

Educated in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, he is fluent in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. Until the early 1990s the MLSTP maintained extensive relations with

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...

, with Pinto da Costa himself having enjoyed a friendly relationship with

José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for ...

, the President of Angola, extending back to when they were both young men. In 1991, the

legalisation Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one ...

of opposition political parties led to the country's first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

under a democratic system. Pinto da Costa did not contest the election and instead announced he would retire from politics. The MLSTP did not present an alternative candidate and

Miguel Trovoada Miguel dos Anjos da Cunha Lisboa Trovoada (born December 27, 1936) was the prime minister from 1975 to 1979 and second president of São Tomé and Príncipe 1991 to 2001. On 16 July 2014, he was appointed the Special Representative of the United ...

was elected unopposed. Despite his previous declaration, Pinto da Costa returned to contest elections in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, but was narrowly defeated, taking 47.26% of the vote, by Trovoada. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he ran against incumbent president

Fradique de Menezes Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes (born March 21, 1942) is a São Toméan politician who was the third president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2001 to 2011. Early life Menezes was born on the then Portuguese colony of São Tomé in 1942, the s ...

, who won a majority in the first round. Pinto da Costa was elected leader of the MLSTP in May 1998. He resigned from the party in February 2005 and

Guilherme Posser da Costa Guilherme Posser da Costa (born 18 May 1953) is a São Toméan who served as the ninth prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1999 to 2001. Posser da Costa served as Minister of Foreign Affairs: 1987–1988, 1990–1991, and 1994–1996. ...

was elected to succeed him. In the July 2011 presidential election, he ran as an independent. He won the most votes in the first round but failed to receive the required majority. In a run-off round on 7 August, he defeated rival

Evaristo Carvalho Evaristo do Espírito Santo Carvalho (22 October 1941 – 28 May 2022) was a São Toméan politician who served as the fourth president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the prime minister of the country on two o ...

from the

Independent Democratic Action The Independent Democratic Action ( pt, Acção Democrática Independente) is a political party in São Tomé and Príncipe. It was established in 1994 by the then president Miguel Trovoada and is a politically centrist party. It took part in ...

party ( pt, Acção Democratica Independente, ADI), taking 53% of the votes. During the campaign, he focused on the need for political stability and promised to tackle widespread corruption. His bid was given the backing of most of the other major candidates, including former Prime Minister

Maria das Neves Maria das Neves Ceita Baptista de Sousa (born 1958) served as the 11th prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe. She was a key figure in the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe-Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD) and became ...

, who claimed "Pinto da Costa's plan could bring more hope to our country". Some analysts, however, raised concerns that the former president's victory might trigger a return to the authoritarian rule seen during his previous period in power. He took office on 3 September 2011. In 2016 election he qualified for the second round, but then boycotted the second round, so he stepped down and the opposition won.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Manuel Pinto da 1937 births People from Água Grande District Heads of state of São Tomé and Príncipe Living people Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party politicians São Tomé and Príncipe economists 20th-century São Tomé and Príncipe politicians 21st-century São Tomé and Príncipe politicians